Marketers: Here's Why Equifax's Breach Is Your Problem

Marketers see data breach headlines and think, thank goodness it wasn’t us – that would be a PR and marketing nightmare. But the reality is, even if your company wasn’t breached, you still have a huge challenge on your hands, according to Bill Hodak, the head of marketing at Sift Science.

Equifax breach could be impacting your small company. Shutterstock

In addition to the Equifax breach, the last couple of years have seen Yahoo (1 billion accounts), MySpace (360 million names and passwords), eBay (145 million passwords) and several more big-name brands hacked. “The downstream consequence of those breaches is that stolen information is sold on the dark web many times over,” said Hodak. Since two-thirds of people use the same login information on multiple sites, when fraudsters get hold of it, they use these stolen credentials for criminal purposes all over the web.

“The information may have been stolen elsewhere, but if even a small handful of your customers get their accounts hacked or experience fraud on your site, it’s your company that loses the customer’s trust, and your brand reputation that is at risk,” says Hodak.

These big data breaches are happening so frequently that, Hodak warns, “it’s best to assume that a significant number of your customers have been victims, or soon will be.” Once they get in to your site, they can do real financial and reputation damage - steal money, launder money, post fake reviews, or use stored credit card information to make purchases.

This is the world all businesses are operating in, and they need technology behind the scenes to ensure customer safety. According to Hodak, “The trick is not to create a bad experience for customers in the process.” Below are some of his insights on addressing this:

Don’t get in the way of users

There's a spectrum of approaches to tightening up login security, from the heavy-handed to the nuanced. "You could do something like basic two-factor authentication, which a lot of banks and websites use. They shoot you a text message or email to say, 'Hey, we just saw you trying to log in from a new computer. Is this you?' And if you say yes, they'll send you a special code to log in. It’s good to know they’re looking out for you, but it creates a lot of friction," Hodak notes.

Analyze a variety of data points

"You need the ability to identify which users you can trust, and which ones you can’t," Hodak explains. "You can then let trusted users through seamlessly, block any illegitimate login attempts, and introduce extra steps to validate any users you’re unsure about." To be able to do this, you need to be able to analyze thousands of signals to identify if the user is suspicious. "It’s not just about IP address and location – hackers can easily spoof those – but could also include behavioral and biometric signals such as browsing patterns and how much pressure someone applies when they’re tapping on their phone. With big data technology and real-time machine learning, this type of analysis is now possible."

Fight technology with technology

We are at a point where no one can afford to put their head in the sand when these breaches happen, and that includes marketing leaders. "It’s time to develop a healthy paranoia, and start operating from the point of view that every breach is going to affect you sooner or later, in some way or another. Get your house in order now, because breaches like Equifax are going to keep happening. Prepare to fight technology with technology. Fraudsters are becoming increasingly good at pulling together large data sets to create ever more nuanced and sophisticated attacks. Businesses have to get out ahead of them with technology that also lets them leverage data and technology to create more nuanced and sophisticated authentication processes," Hodak warns.

As marketers, we have to simultaneously protect our companies and our customers from the catastrophic consequences of other companies’ data breaches, and from the mundane annoyance of transactional friction that can kill your conversion rate.

@kate_l_harrison is a branding and marketing consultant specializing in nonprofits and sustainable businesses (katelharrison.com).

Kate L. Harrison is branding and marketing expert with a passion for helping nonprofits and eco-friendly businesses succeed. She has a Master's in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and a JD in Environmental Law from Pace. ...